What's the first artwork you remember liking?

Yesterday I talked about the first painting I liked and today it’s your turn. In April’s contest, I asked  “What’s the first artwork you remember liking?” and I got some wonderful answers. Thanks so much to everyone who shared their memories, I think you'll find them all inspiring. I've added some images to give you a taste, but unfortunately I couldn't always find the ones you described

Some people first loved the work of very famous artists.

Valerie said: “The first art that really inspired me was Marc Chagall's "lovers flying over the village."  It is typically colourful and romantic but you can also barely make out a tiny figure going to the bathroom off in the field.  I love it when artists have a sense of humour!”

Caroline said: “Edgar Degas, The Dancing Class. I was about 11 years old and clueless about art. It was on a postcard you got somewhere for free. I still have the postcard.”

Toni said: “Hmmm, great question. As a kid I was totally enamored by Salvador Dali’s work…made me question perspective and view the world through a more colourful lens.”

Others liked the art they were exposed to at home.

Malia said: “I always really liked the art prints from the 60s and 70s that my mother had on the walls of our house. The most intriguing one, though, was definitely the grey and black Saito print of a woman with a green gem on her finger--muted tones with a particularly memorable contrasting focus point. It definitely piqued my interest in print making that I have maintained (though not necessarily practiced myself) since then. It was also a neat surprise when I eventually found out that Kiyoshi Saito was a well-known Japanese print artist. Thinking about the picture always reminds me of home.”


Lesley said: "Both of my grandmothers were amateur artists, painting landscapes & still lifes once they became empty-nesters in the 70s. Their paintings were all over our home growing up. But the painting I first remember loving was one that hung in my grandmother's home, on a skinny wall just inside the front door. It was an architectural study of a historic looking building with green shutters and pink flowers tumbling out of window boxes. She eventually gave it to me for Christmas a few years before she passed away. Still one of my favorite possessions!"

Then there was the Frieske I fell in love with at a local museum, then once I was older I discovered so much amazing art that now it is impossible to have a favorite! 

Sandi said: “Probably my older sister’s sketch book was my first artwork that I really appreciated. Other than that, probably Bob Ross. He made painting look so effortless.”

KH said: “My mother has a close friend (Jean) who has been a painter since before I was born.  The first painting I ever liked/loved was one of hers.  Her style is very much abstract expressionism and this one was called "Sewers of Marrakesh".  It hung in our living room and I was about 3 years old when I first mentioned to my mom about the 'donkey' I could see in the painting in amongst the shapes and curves  (it was very funny since no-one else had ever seen the 'donkey' but once I mentioned it everyone could see it).  Jean and her art is very much responsible for my love of art and fervent belief people should own and live with 'real' art.”

Others liked both.

Julia said: “So, the real first piece of artwork I ever liked? I've racked my memory and its so hard to remember because I feel like I have been surrounded by art since I was born. My mother's work was definitely the first I can remember loving, specifically her colourful pastels of fruit and adorable furry creatures.

Other than my mother's work and the fact that I basically grew up in an art gallery, one of my clearest memories of loving a painting was Wassily Kandinsky's Black Strokes 1. I had to do a project on it in elementary school where we had to examine the painting in detail and re-create a small portion of it. I remember picking the painting because it was so colourful and exciting (and it reminded me of a combination of fireworks and pom-poms!).

Since then, my knowledge of art and artists has grown exponentially and my tastes have developed in a more modern direction (graphic artists currently dominate my preferences). However my love of bright colours (and pom-poms) still exists. I think its interesting that when I look back at the painting I loved in elementary school, I still love it today. But more than that, I can see the influence that painting has had on my artistic tastes today.”

Elea said: “My first exposure to art was what we had on our walls at home too: typical prints of English country scenes by John Constable, and several different versions of the 18th Century portraits of Pinkie and the Blue Boy. But I never really liked them. The first artwork that captured my imagination was when I discovered the Egyptians in fifth grade. I never thought of Egyptian funerary pieces as art back then, they were artifacts in my mind (art was paintings in frames). But now I'm all grown up and can appreciate the amazing skill that went into creating those pieces, as well as the spiritual element that marks most funerary work. The Egyptian style had a certain smoothness to it that still appeals to me, as well as the glorious colours.”

The winner...

Originally, I thought I could judge the answers and pick the best one, but I enjoyed them all so much that it was impossible to choose. So I put everyone's answers in a dish and got Pat to choose one.  Well, actually I was so inspired by your answers, I added an extra prize and choose two winners. The winners of April's contest are, drum roll please...Malia and Caroline.

Congratulations, I will be in touch to get your addresses and mail you your mini-painting this week.

And stay tuned for the May contest, which will begin this week, both on the blog and on my facebook page.